Philanthropy beat: Survivor cleans up for cancer patients

When Cindy Bearman was battling breast cancer a decade ago, she had zero energy to clean her home and little tolerance for the smell of harsh cleaning detergents.

Now she has decided to help other weary cancer patients get their houses in order. Working with the Angel Foundation of Minneapolis, she and her husband, David Bearman, have created "Angel Clean," a free one-time housecleaning service for cancer patients undergoing treatment.

"When you're undergoing treatment, you just want to go home and go to bed,'' said Cindy Bearman, of Plymouth. "You need to set priorities. To me it was more important to spend quality time with my family than to use my energy to clean."

Angel Foundation leaders said the service was a terrific complement to their work. The foundation offers $500 to $1,000 grants to cancer patients to help pay for rent, mortgage, utilities or gas. It also offers education and support services to families.

Housecleaning help was something that many people have asked about, they said.

"When we distributed fliers recently at one of our support groups, everyone was excited," said Marsha Lietz, executive director. "You can tell it's something much-needed in the community."

Twin Cities adults undergoing cancer treatments, such as radiation, chemotherapy or stem cell treatments, are eligible to apply. Their houses will be cleaned using only green products, said the Bearmans, who run an eco-friendly cleaning service called Green Darlene.

The goal is to have volunteers join forces with Green Darlene staff to clean the houses, said the Bearmans. Starting out, one or two houses will be cleaned each week, they said, or up to 100 houses the first year. With more volunteers, that number will grow.